WWE SmackDown: A Live Special That Wasn't Very Special at All

This live holiday special of SmackDown opened with Mick Foley dressed as Santa Claus.

He repeated that we were getting a world title steel cage match during the show. He also added to the card a “miracle on 34th street fight” and an "all I want for Christmas battle royal," where the winner got any wish he wanted granted.

He brought out Michael Cole, who was dressed as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. As he approached the announce booth we saw that Josh Matthews was Buddy the Elf.

He next brought out Booker T dressed as Santa and wanted him to do a spin-a-rooni. Booker gave us one and that brought out Cody Rhodes.

He ripped into Booker saying that he doesn’t have the skills to compete anymore. Booker said that he did so Foley booked Cody Rhodes vs. Booker T for later in the night.

With the exception of a few laughs, I found the opening segment pointless. It did officially set up the Cody/Booker feud, but what else did it really do?

Mistletoe on a Pole Match

Mick Foley announced that the first match of the night was a “mistletoe on a pole match” where the winner would get a prize.

It featured the Bella Twins, Tamina, Alicia Fox, A.J. Lee, Rosa Mendes, Kaitlyn, Natalya and Aksana.

Brie Bella won the match when she basically climbed over his sister to grab the mistletoe.

She motioned that she’ll be winning the Divas Championship but Foley revealed that Brie wasn’t getting a title shot. All the mistletoe did was grant her a kiss from any superstar she wanted before Christmas.

This match was a total train wreck and completely pointless.

The entire time we just saw the divas tripping each other until Brie climbed over Nikki.

This was just horrible.

Match Rating: 0/5

Justin Gabriel vs. Jinder Mahal

The next match of the night saw Justin Gabriel take on Jinder Mahal.

Mahal got no reaction whatsoever until he started to bash Christmas.

The match itself wasn’t very good. Mahal dominated the whole thing until Ted DiBiase’s music hit. He came out and gave gifts to audience.

That created a distraction which gave Gabriel the opportunity to knock down Mahal and hit the 450 Splash for the win.

I’m glad Gabriel picked up a victory here but I wish it was in a good match that showcased his skill. Instead it was against someone who is greener then the grass outside.

I like that DiBiase is finally getting some sort of push, though. Hopefully once he gets away from the only man more boring than Alberto Del Rio, he’ll move onto a more legit feud.

This “special” edition of SmackDown doesn’t seem so special yet.

Match Rating: 1/5

We then went backstage where Mick Foley is throwing a Christmas party.

We saw the Usos teaching Foley their dance, Roddy Piper interacting with Dusty Rhodes and Hornswaggle doing his thing.

Goldust even returned to bark at his dad.

David Otunga walked in and wanted the party shut down. Instead Foley put him in a match against Randy Orton.

It was good to see Piper and the American Dream, but was there any point to this other than to set up Otunga/Orton?

Elsewhere, Booker T was attacked by Cody Rhodes during an interview. I guess we’re not getting their match after all.

Kofi Kingston vs. Tyson Kidd

One half of the WWE Tag Team Champions took on a former champion here. The finish saw Kingston put on Michael Cole’s reindeer headgear and hit a big top rope splash for the win.

This was an OK match, certainly better then the last two. At the same time this could have been a great match if WWE actually gave these two time.

Both Kingston and Kidd are good in the ring and would mesh well together.

I can’t believe WWE is dropping the ball on the matches here tonight.

Match Rating: 2.5/5

Backstage we go back to the Christmas party.

The only thing of note that happened was that the weird Teddy Long/Aksana romance was advanced. Even then, that’s not very interesting at all.

Randy Orton vs. David Otunga: Miracle on 34th Street Fight

Here we have the “miracle on 34th street fight” between Randy Orton and David Otunga. The finish saw Orton hit the RKO for the win.

I thought this was an entertaining match. I enjoyed the destruction of the Christmas decorations around the ring and stage. I got a good laugh when Orton threw a box at Otunga’s head.

Other than the entertaining nature of the match, it was pretty much a squash.

Otunga got in some offense thanks to some interference from Wade Barrett, but Orton dominated the whole thing.

With Orton putting people over lately I was worried that Otunga would win. Thankfully he didn’t.

Carlton banks should stick to being John Laurinaitis’ sidekick for now.

Match Rating: 3/5

All I Want For Christmas Battle Royal

Featuring 20 superstars the winner would get any wish he wanted from Santa.

When I saw Hornswaggle come out I had a feeling that he was going to win, and he did.

The finish saw Jinder Mahal, Heath Slater, Tyler Reks and Huncio take out Sheamus so they could concentrate on Hornswaggle.

Before they could do anything Sheamus made the save and eliminated the four heels. That left Sheamus and the little guy.

Hornswaggle didn’t want to leave so Sheamus tried to get rid of him. As they both stood on the apron, Hornswaggle asked for a hug. Sheamus went in for it and Hornswaggle pushed him off.

The little guy now gets a wish from Santa.

While kind of pointless, the match was entertaining, especially the ending.

Match Rating: 2.5/5

Backstage, Hornswaggle wanted the ability talk. He hugged Santa and began to talk.

He pointed at various things in the room and named them and even called Vickie Guerrero grandma.

The “excuse me” battle was a bit entertaining.

So Hornswaggle can talk now. Will that actually lead to anything?

Mark Henry vs. Daniel Bryan: Steel Cage Match for the World Title

The finish saw Mark Henry deliver a World’s Strongest Slam from the middle rope to retain his title.

The entire match was dominated by Henry has he hit a lot, and I mean a lot, of clotheslines. That’s basically all he did.

When Daniel Bryan took control the pace started to quicken and I started to enjoy the match a bit more.

There were multiple times where it seemed like Bryan could actually win the match. He got Henry in a few submission moves and also almost escaped the cage on numerous occasions.

Henry remains champion, though, and will take on Big Show at the TLC: Tables, Ladder and Chairs pay-per-view.

Match Rating: 3/5

I know it seems like I’m being really critical of this show, but overall I felt that this “special” episode of SmackDown wasn’t very special at all.

The matches disappointed and the ones that should have been good were overall huge letdowns.

The backstage and in-ring segments were pointless and made no sense.

If it was actually the Christmas season, this episode would have made more sense and may have been better. Unfortunately Christmas is almost four weeks away.

I turned on the television expecting something great and I was extremely disappointed.

Show Rating: 2/5